Outsider

Brettonsville was a small town that never had anything new. It was tightly wrapped in its blanket of familiarity and all of its residents planned for it to stay that way. They dressed modestly, went to school from eight till four, and ate dinner every day at exactly seven p.m. Nothing interrupted the schedule until Cordelia. Cordelia was a wrench thrown into the town’s perfect gears. Her long blonde curls were a mess and her dress was too short to be proper for a young lady of her age. She came into town one evening on the back of a beautiful horse in clothing that was fit for only the wealthiest people. Naturally, that drew stares, but what really bothered the people of Brettonsville was how novel she was. Most of the wealthy lords and ladies that came through their town never stopped once and most had carriages the came through in, but here Cordelia was on the back of her horse making small talk with whoever would listen.

           “I came from a town up north where it snows in the winter and it has the most beautiful beaches for the summer and you can eat such marvelous things like cake, ice cream, and pies! The clothing there is beautiful, that is where this dress is from!” Cordelia rambled on to some children making their way to school. The kids giggled at her stories and asked her questions, but they all seemed detached as if they were not truly listening.

           “What’s a cake, missus?” One little boy asked with wide eyes as Cordelia told him about the array of desserts they had at every event. A cloud of confusion made its way to Cordelia’s face as she realized the kid was not joking.

           “You have never had a cake?” Cordelia tilted her head and stared at the boy as if he was an anomaly she had just discovered. The boy shook his head.

           “We haven’t either, Miss Cordelia!” A group of triplets said in unison.

           “Me neither!”

           “I haven’t had no cake!”

           “What is it, missus?”

           “I want a cake!”

           “We haven’t even heard of cake, missus!” A chorus of negative responses made their way to Cordelia’s ears. She looked absolutely astonished and reached into a square bag to pull out a marvelous cake. It was three tiers and looked like it had been decorated by angels. The frosting was pure white. No blemishes were found on this cake. There were pale pink chocolate roses decorating it and gold leaf was delicately pressed into each one.

           “Well, you must have some cake then! Every child needs cake to be a functional person!” Cordelia said firmly. She reached into her bag again and pulled out a knife. Some of the kids cringed at this and a little one called for her to stop.

           “Miss Cordelia, please stop! You’re going to hurt the cake! Please don’t!” The little girl sobbed, but she looked as if she had rehearsed the tears. They did not seem completely real. She tugged on Cordelia’s skirt and wiped her eyes on it. Cordelia let out a nervous chuckle that turned into a laugh.

           “It will not hurt the cake, little one! The cake is not alive! It is made of sugar and flour and amazing things like that!” Cordelia smiled down at the little girl who was nodding seriously.

           “Ok.” The girl smiled back up at her and rubbed her eyes a bit. Quickly dividing the cake into large pieces, she whipped out some paper plates and gave each kid a piece of the cake.

           “Thank you, thank you, Miss Cordelia!” The little girl’s eyes shone as she shoveled the cake into her mouth. The other kids let out a chorus of grunts, mouths too full to thank her. A clock clanged eight and the kids’ eyes all widened. They were going to be late. Thanking Cordelia, they dashed towards the distant school building, yelling their goodbyes to her. Cordelia smiled and waved at each one, quietly thinking about the children’s oddness. They had seemed guarded with their actual emotions. Their actions had seemed almost rehearsed.

           “You probably shouldn’t have done that, miss.” A voice caused Cordelia to turn around quickly. Cordelia had to look up to find the young man’s face. He was annoyingly tall with the reddest hair she had ever seen.

           “Excuse you, but I can do whatever I please. If making children smile is a crime here, then let me know now.” Cordelia raised an eyebrow at the man’s chuckle.

           “No, no, miss, it certainly isn’t a crime. In fact, it was nice to see their cheery little faces light up like that. We just don’t get many visitors down here, so they might not be nearly as forgiving that you, a stranger, offered food to their children and started having conversations with them. You’re just plain strange.” He lazily gestured behind him at several adults who were staring at Cordelia with less than friendly faces.

           “Oh, my… they do not look happy.” Cordelia smiled slightly.

           “No, they don’t.” The man laughed.

           “I’m Cordelia.”

           “Marcus. Don’t be to put off by the unfriendly faces. They’re nicer once you get to know them, not that you will have the chance to.” Marcus left her alone with those words in the middle of the road, heading off to who knows where. As soon as he was gone, Cordelia started heading over toward a small building labeled hotel. The painted letters were peeling away and the windows looked like they had not been washed in years. A layer of grime seemed to coat the outside of the building. Cordelia winced as she grabbed the doorknob. It was coated in something slimy and green. It was getting warm outside, so she breathed deeply and tossed open the door. The first thing she smelled was cookies. Inside the building, it was nothing like she had expected. It was homey and felt warm. A smiling woman greeted her at the desk.

           “Name, please.” The woman said in a lilting accent. Her voice was calm and motherly which drew Cordelia in even more. It was a nice change from the glares she received in the streets.

           “I’m Cordelia. I’m new here.” As soon as Cordelia said those words, she regretted them. The woman’s smile fell and a sharp expression replaced it. The warmness of the hotel seemed to become stiflingly hot as the woman stared at her.

           “We don’t get new people in town.” The ice cold tone of her voice did nothing to relieve the rising temperature.

           “I apologize. I don’t understand. I’m here.” Cordelia smiled nervously at the woman. The room seemed to be getting hotter by the second and Cordelia started sweating. The air felt heavier and heavier until Cordelia had to gulp down the air. Cordelia watched the woman say something else, but she could not make out the words. As Cordelia fell to the ground, the woman’s smile returned mechanically and everything was the same in the town once more.